Are the Raiders the worst team in the NFL?

By Cody Rivera | Oct 14, 2018

DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 16: Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden on the sidelines during a game between the Denver Broncos and the Oakland Raiders on September 16, 2018, at Broncos Stadium at Mile High, Denver, CO. The Denver Broncos defeated Oakland by a score of 20-19. (Photo by Rich Gabrielson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Jon Gruden’s Oakland Raiders could easily be 0-6 right now, and he’s turned them into the biggest joke in the league.

Before every NFL season, we all make at least one prediction that just goes horribly awry. My horrible prediction for the 2018 season was that the Oakland Raiders would actually be a somewhat respectable football team.

Two years ago, quarterback Derek Carr came into his own and helped the Raiders to a 12-4 season and a spot in the playoffs. Then in 2017, they struggled mightily with injuries, including an injury to Carr himself, and stumbled to a disappointing 6-10 season.

And that was when they made the big change. They brought back Jon Gruden, the former Monday Night Football analyst as well as the former host of the Gruden QB Camp (or whatever that ESPN show was called), to be the man in charge. Gruden was a familiar face at the Oakland Coliseum, having coached the team from 1998-2001.

And for some reason, I bought into the Gruden Raiders. I predicted the Raiders to, under Gruden’s leadership, bounce back from last year’s let down season and win the AFC West.

I absolutely deserve every bit of flack I receive for that prediction, because the Raiders have become the biggest joke in the NFL. In Week 6, they are trailing the Seattle Seahawks 17-0 at halftime, and assuming Seattle doesn’t have an epic second half meltdown, Oakland will drop to 1-5.

Gruden’s lone win was just a measly overtime win against the Cleveland Browns, the team that went 0-16 last year. If one or two plays had gone differently in that game, the Raiders could easily be 0-6.

Next. Raiders are trending toward a total rebuild. dark

Oakland looked like it was going to have a decent team before the season, but then Gruden traded Khalil Mack to the Chicago Bears just before the season kicked off, and everything has just been a downward spiral ever since then.

So yeah, it’s safe to say I’m a little embarrassed for picking the Raiders to win the AFC West. Rub it in my face, because I deserve it. The Raiders are the laughingstock of the NFL right now.

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